The beginning of our tour of Europe

We have finally started trucking around Europe!

Driving out of Horsham was a bit weird. It was like hitchhiking for the first time again. Anxiety, fear, excitement, wanting, not-wanting, all with a little touch of panic.

Waiting at the ferry port

We aren't put in these situations very often. And Ive always found it weirdly addictive. Having a total unknown ahead of you. Its addictive because its scary I think. Kerry on the other hand is just dandy with it all!

Having made good time to the ferry port we were put on an earlier crossing (which was meant to be £32 more!) and drove in to Calais at 6pm French time. We knew we couldn't stay in Calais for long as its pretty dodgy. And as soon as we drove through the town we were shown why. There was a group of about 100 asylum seekers of different ethnicities at the side of the road, scaling a 10 foot high fence. God knows where they were going but I wasn't going to hang around to find out.

We drove South along the coast road, over rolling green fields and between the sand dunes at one point! France isn't like England. This puzzles me as you'd have thought they were connected at some point and may be a little alike? … maybe

Aire on the riverside near Limoges

After a few hours driving we grabbed our copy of 'All the Aires - France' and knuckled down to finding a suitable Aire. An aire in France is a designated Area for motorhomers or 'Camping-Carz' to pull up for the night, replenish any fresh water, dump any grey water as well as plug in to recharge batteries and watch tv etc.

Well this is all geared for BIG motorhomes. The Aire we arrived at in Ault was full of these. Mahoosive ones, all up on all kinds of leveling ramps with full sized satellite dishes on top. It was nuts. We pulled up in the blue smartie van and seemed a little dwarfed. We dont have leveling ramps so no sooner had we reversed up then we were down to the beach front to watch the sun setting. I wasn't scared anymore.

The next few days were full of driving. We wanted to get South and consequently heat! On the way through the Dordogne we stopped at a small, quaint town called Martel. The municipal camp site was a nice little green with showers and proper toilets. All for EURO 6.44.

Rocamadour from a distance

We had seen a few brown tourist signs for Rocamadour and I remembered my Dad saying he'd been there when touring on his motorbike. We drove along a windy road which opened out to a gorge where Rocamadour sits, clinging to the edge. The town was nice and we climbed the 200 odd steps up to numerous chapels and sanctuaries devoted to various religious icons.

The scenery started to change from big open, rolling fields to the gorges and canyons of the Pyrenees and then opened up to big blue skies and lots of heat!

We fought our way through Montpellier and out to a tiny spit of sand where we found loads of other camping cars all parked up metres from the beach. We used this to our advantage and spent a day lounging on the beach before heading in to Montpellier for a spot of sight seeing.

On the way we used McDonalds' wifi and stumbled across 5 chaps on tricked out 600cc motorbikes pulling stunts and ricks worthy of their own show. All in the car park which seemed to be well tolerated and made for some good pictures.

Beach just South of Montpellier

As we parked up on the outskirts of Montpellier we could hear a huge booming voice flooding over the city. Walking in, the sound got louder and louder until we found a great big skate and BMX comp was underway.

The next day we walked around Montpellier until we were tired and then retired back to the beach.

6am the next morning and I'm jolted awake by someone hollering outside the van. It's a French guy jabbering something I can't decipher. I explain in my best French that I cannot understand him. But he continues with his jabbers until I poke my head out of the window and see his car a little futher down the beach road, stuck in the sandy ditch next to it.

Myself and a passing motorist helped him for 30 minutes and eventually got the car out using branches and the van that had stopped to tow him. I don't know how he'd done it because the road is dead straight and in no way dangerous. I wonder whether the guy was on drugs, and nearly asked. Then thinking it'd be better to leave it.

A week of R, R, R and Aghr

Sun sun and lots more sun

Tenerife is hot! I mean I knew it was hot. I've been before. But in August, mid season, with my parents. So when booking a last minute holiday in April I knew Tenerife would be one of the hottest places within our budget. Hotter than most places on Europe.


Kerry and I had such a good time on our ski season. We skied and boarded to our hearts content but all inbetween some very hard work. I didn't realise quite how much work it would be.

So in order to relax and unwind we decided to blow our wages from the ski season on our first all inclusive holiday. Unlimited beer, wine, food and sun. To get us ready for even more sun during the summer you see?

I was a bit taken aback when we were met at the airport by an empty transfer coach. To me this could mean one of two things. Either the hotel is crap, no ones else is going and I'm in for a week of cockroaches and chicken nuggets or we are going to be the only two people in the chalet being waited on hand and foot with massages and gourmet food.
Well it wasn't as Id expected. It was alovely hotel with marble everywhere and plants hanging from every floor. Water features were liberally sprinkled everywhere like Hundreds and Thousands on an ice cream.

The week consisted of nothing... There is nothing I can say except we sunbathed all day and then ate and drank at night. And thats what we wanted. I read 6 books as well and got a touch of constipation half way through. But we won't go in to that.

The poolside thermometer read atleast 30 degrees C every single day. That coupled with a beer tap that you pour yourself (!!!) and I was in my element.


The sunbatheing was a good opportunity to put down a base layer of tan ready for touring. And boy am I ready!

The end of our Winter season :(...

We are all done. Ski season over...

After waving goodbye to our last week of guests, Kerry and I enjoyed a well earned lie-in  before setting to work turning the chalet down and locking her up until the next season's seasonnaires arrive in 6 months time.

Our home for 4 months

The cleaning was a bit surreal really because there was no one there... No guests to tend to, no new mess being made. Once I'd cleaned the toilets and showers, no one used them to make them dirty again!

We had about 3 days to get the chalet ready for an inspection on the 4th day and were then to be moved 20 minutes up the valley to Tignes Lavachey to help out in a 24 bed chalet there.

On our last day we took to the slopes to say thank you and farewell to Sainte Foy. Unfortunately it was very icy and we only felt brave enough to chance one run, scared of picking up an injury on the last day of the season! But we snowboarded from the top of resort to the bottom, taking in the sights for the very last time.

We passed our inspection and told we had a lift to Tignes the next day at 13:00. So after a lazy morning saying goodbye to a few people and one last Diabolo Pizza (Spicy hot!) in the Pitchouli bar we met our manager and lugged our bags down THE stairs for the last time. 

Our season in Sainte Foy was finished. I had loved it too... There is no better way to live than on a mountain. And whilst I was skeptical to start with, Sainte Foy was the mountain for me. 

The Chalet got messier to get cleaner!

We thought we were just going to be helping out in Tignes. A bit of washing up, serving the guests and making a few beds, with the promise of a Tignes area lift pass for the last 3 days. How we were led on. The chalet normally operates with one chef and 2 hosts. One of the hosts had gone back to the UK for a few days training and Kerry and I were filling in her space. That is until we were in the van to Tignes. Then it became apparent that the chef had complained of an injured ankle and that Kerry and I were to cook that evening. 

Bleugh ... more work. I wasn't very happy. Kerry and I did not want to work in Tignes. We loved Sainte Foy and now that we had shut up shop just wanted to get home. We seriously contemplated leaving of our own accord on the Wednesday and heading home, but negotiated with the company and were assured that our commitment bond and retainer would be paid (Approx. £250 each) as well as a flight home on the chartered aircraft this coming Sunday. We figured a good deal for 3 days of tidying and hosting. 

Not so much for cooking for 21. 11 of which were kids, meaning a whole different course.

Marshmallow topped mountain from our chalet balcony

When we arrived we introduced ourselves and had a look around. The chalet was of a lower grading to ours. It wasn't as new, the furnishings weren't quite as nice, but functionally it was fine. If it was cleaned. We didn't know how the chef must have worked before. And if I'm honest, how no one had gotten ill. The kitchen had old grease smeared down the cupboards, every plate, bowl and piece of cutlery was dirty. The guests brought some mugs up to the kitchen to be cleaned as they had baked on scum around the rim. And the smell.. I'm not sure what it was but it was foul!

That evening Kerry and I cobbled together one of the meals we were used to cooking. A simple task you'd have thought... seeing as there is a comprehensive cook book that everyone is meant to adhere to. Not so when the chef had taken it upon himself to serve different food, resulting in the shopping not matching the ingredients. 

With the kitchen being as it was and the obvious discontent from the guests at the state of the place Kerry and I chose not to board the next day and instead devoted the time to deep cleaning the kitchen and dining areas. Basic stuff that Kerry and I would do every day... sweep and mop the floor, clean away all dishes in to the dishwasher, clean the windows, lay out afternoon tea.. all weren't done. And what go to me more was that the 'host' working with us had left by 9am! ... It's HER chalet!

The same palarva with dinner happened again for 2 nights. I hated it. This wasn't how a chalet was run and now I was working in it... making do with little support. I was literally counting down the hours until we were to go home. On the last night one guests in particular showed his disdain and started swearing loudly. I agreed with everything he said. I just wanted to get home.

View from the Grande Mott - Tignes

The last 3 days of our season were a nightmare and something I don't wish to happen again... But it's important that they don't detract from the whole experience. I've worked on a mountain for nearly 4 months, hosted for some amazing people, received job offers, expressions of people wanting to invest in Kerry and I and all while being able to snowboard pretty much every day.

There is nothing I would want to change about our season in Sainte Foy. It was simply... perfect. And I know it will be tricky to match that next year.

Over the 4 months Kerry and I have managed to not spend our wages. Living off of tips and the good company we kept. So with those wages we have decided to blow them all! Next Wednesday we jump back on an airplane and head for sunny Tenerife, Canary Islands for a week of all inclusive food and beer, 22 - 26 degree heat and most importantly ... someone waiting on us!

We already have some plans for next Winter season... but we can't tell you just yet ;)

A Month of Snowboarding bliss...

I've had the time of my life and I'm now exhausted!

We have had 4 weeks of perfect guests. One week we only had 4!

Phil and Claire, good school friends of mine, came out for a week which was really nice. They were initially going to try and find a different operator to stay with, And meet us out on the slopes. Sainte Foy being what it is (Quite a well-to-do, "oh yaa darling" type resort) meant that our chalet turned out being the cheapest and they succumbed to staying with us!

Kerry changed her rental board for some ski's so she could whizz around the mountain with us all and we had some brilliant weather.

The beginning of the week was a little sparse on the fresh stuff so Phil and I plucked up the courage to try some daring traverses. Real 20p - 50p stuff! But were rewarded with some lovely lines.

Then the heavens opened and we got a couple of feet of snow at the top! Another long traverse, known as Crystal Dark, later and another powder run to the piste.

All of the guests kindly banded together and bought Kerry and I a lovely steak at La Bergerie restaurant on the Wednesday night.

We even stuck a GoPro attachment to Phil's helmet so there should be some awesome footage of me in the next video! I jumped in to a particular tree run I love. However when I rode it this time I'd had a 9% Duvel (beer) and the snow was... sparse to say the least. I was clattering in to branches, climbing out of tree wells and then jumping down bare earth until I plopped out the other side, a little battered but ok.

Kerry celebrated her Birthday on the 25th March and we had some awesome guests to go with it. The two kids, 6 and 9, were adamant that EVERY single birthday decoration should be put up. There were balloons and sprinkle bits everywhere as well as two hand made cards.

 I gave her a very special, all gold, Pandora charm to  complete her bracelet. If there are any blokes out there dieing for ideas for what to buy their beloved better halfs... go with Pandora! There is a charm for all occasions and it's kept me out of the dog house for a good 2 years.

Now that it's full up however, Kerry will be able to change out any old charms out for new ones I buy. Even though she'd adamant on another bracelet!

I was able to meet up with the maintenance guy from another chalet company for an afternoons riding. We did an off piste run called the Col de Granier which runs from the top of the resort on the North face of the mountain down to a small stream and then down to the village at the bottom of the mountain.

The powder here was beautiful. There had been hardly anyone down it and because it gets very little sun the snow was top quality.

The whole thing took about an hour and we had to walk the last few hundred meters as the snow had melted lower down. I was knackered! All that fluffy stuff had tired me out and the pint in the pub at the end was well earnt!

I actually felt rather sick after. Then when I got back to Kerry she reminded me I hadn't eaten since breakfast and had ridden all day!

All in all it's been a brilliant season. I wouldn't change it for the world. And while I was very skeptical of the small resort we were placed in I'm glad we were now. Our boarding and Kerry's skiing has come on leaps and bounds and we have been on the slopes nearly every day. This is no doubt because we haven't been hitting the sauce every night like other resorts. We cannot imagine skiing in a big resort! Who wants to queue on holiday? I want to Snowboard!

Chalet clean down, linen returns, oven blitzing and general admin stuff to do this week. Then over to Tignes for 3 days to help out with a different chalet and finally a flight back to blighty on Sunday.... While I love the snow, I'm now itching to get in the van and to get some heat!

Visits from the Family...

The Brackpool (seniors) 's

I was fairly surprised, but pleasantly pleased, when my Dad said he wanted to come and join us for a week.

Haydn, myself, David, Kerry and Dad at lunch

Dad isn't a skier, boarder, polar bear, Inuit or any other snow related person. So to commit to coming out to the Alps for a week and to have Dry Slope Skiing lessons before hand was touching.

Alas it wasn't meant to be. Dad found skiing on snow a lot different. His first run was further than he had ever skied before put together and he was quite tired when Kerry and I got out of the chalet around 10am.

My two Uncles were with Dad and it was a real treat to ski with them. I'd skied with David the previous year in Alpe D'Heuz but it was only my second week boarding and I wasn't nearly fast enough to keep up. Now however, I'd had 8 weeks of practice, day in day out with only Transfer days off the slopes. Ha-Harr!

Beauty at every turn: Photo Courtesy of Dad

I knew Dave was serious though... two brand new, wood effect, ultra wide planks appeared seconds after he got in the chalet. Obviously proud of his new purchase I couldn't resist but point out that his board seemed to have been broken in two during the flight! Haydn on the other hand had the right idea and pulled out an ultra bendy board given to him by a mate.

Kerry very kindly coached Dad down the blue runs, saying nothing, just skiing in front of him so he could imitate. Having 2 of your brothers and your son yelling contradictory instructions at you at once can't be classed as a constructive ski lesson! Having a female bottom gliding down the hill in front of you apparently is!

Dad skied for a couple of days but never got to the 'click' moment where it all falls in to place. Not wanting to do any lasting physical damage he graciously bowed out and joined us for lunch. He kept saying "I'm primarily here to see you Ads". I was pleased he was here. Its always good to see your Dad.

Jan and Ros join us for dinner on Thursday Evening

The days were filled with some awesome snow, a lot of falls, and Haydn getting lost every 5 minutes. And I was quicker as quick as David. I'm sure I'd now give him a run for his money on any given piste. (Hehe)

Two very nice 60-something year old ladies were staying at the same time. Kerry and I were adamant that we would still offer the exemplary service we usually dish up, so evenings were occupied with cooking the 3 courses as usual. That is, until, David offered to buy everyone a meal on the Thursday evening, the day after our day off. Effectively giving us 2 days off. And boy did we use them well!

We totally chilled, watched a few interesting films including one of my favourites, In Bruges. The two days felt like a little mini break in the season. And it was all the more special because I was with family.


It's fair to say there were a few beers drunk throughout the week! We now have a fully stocked cupboard of assorted beer glasses that look mysteriously familiar to the ones served in the pub! (Probably a good thing as we were having a lot of accidents on our tiled kitchen floor!)

I very much enjoyed the week. It was good to see, and spend time with, my family. I wish all of my friends and family could come and stay the whole season! Maybe one day if anyone wins the lottery??

Friends in snowy places

The transfer bus drives up the road and sat at the back is a very good friend of mine.

Alex and Claire had been promising a visit ever since we murmured we were working a ski season. We had been on 2 skiing holidays before this season and both were with Alex and Claire.

It really was a welcomed break. I didn't realise quite how lonely the whole experience would be. Yes I have Kerry, and yes I've made friends here on the ski resort.. but somewhere deep down It's still lonely. So seeing Alex's little cherub face grinning at me through the bus window, like an excited child who's just seen an ice cream van, was a sight I'd been longing for.

A few big hugs and welcomes later and I was straight back in to Chalet Host mode. We had 6 other guests to cater for afterall!

Flashing back a few days, Kerry and I log in to the company website to check on numbers. Brilliant... still just two, our two mates. Then comes Tuesday ... Bugger! Another two.. Oh well I'm sure they'll be lenient and understanding ... Thursday rolls up ... Get a text whilst nailing some awesome tree runs.

  "Manager Mobile: We nd 2 go shopping, u hve 8 guests nxt wk!"

Right... A trip to Bourg St Maurice (the nearest place with a supermarket) later and a grimacing wait and I'm stood looking at that bus, with my window licker mate grinning back at me.

Kerry, Gabby, Mark and Jules chillin'

My fears and concerns were soon put to rest. Three of the guests had worked seasons before, 2 a couple, like Kerry and I, called Chris and Jane. Everyone was very nice... It was the first time Kerry and I had had a group of people who were mixed bookings. 'Usually' a group hired the chalet in its entirety. This time everyone had snapped up a last minute deal! But it worked.

People were able to mingle, chat and discuss new and exciting things, everyone had something to bring to the table, stories, games. It all just clicked. We had our moments with our friends, but also enjoy the company of the other guests.

To my delight Alex decided to grab a board for a few days. I started learning just as he started his second or third week so I always thought we'd ride together, but after a couple of days on my first holiday he succumbed to the lure of ease and convenience associated with skiing, lacking in panache and finesse on a board.

Alex at his finest!

He was a touch wobbly, but he looked like he was enjoying it! I think he surprised himself as to how much he remembered. Claire had come on leaps and bounds, I was nearly gobsmacked when I first saw her. I'd become accustomed to a few tears, ski poles being thrown as well as the odd obscenity following them down the mountain! But this time it was a real pleasure to ski with her. Something I'd like to do again.

I don't think Gabby, Mark, Jules and Becky were privvy to the 'little game' that was brought by the ex-seasonnaires but they contributed well! The basics of it were to tell a story as a 'pants' nomination. The nominations were then voted upon and a 'winner' decided. This winner then had to wear a pair of knitted pants (or thong) for the evening, morning and start of evening until the next nominations were conducted at dinner.

Kerry sums up a few of the hilarious stories over on her blog. I'll admit now, some of my spectacular cartwheels in the powder won me an evening wearing the panties.

'Winner'

I'd say I got off lightly. Alex won the pants on Tuesday, the night before the hosts day off. That meant he had to wear the panties out to the restaurant on Wednesday night!

Our friends very kindly took us out to dinner. It just so happened that the rest of our guests were booked in to the same restaurant and we sat next to them on the next table!

Kerry and I both had steak, mine with a peppercorn sauce and Kerry with morel mushrooms. I asked for it to be cooked semian (?sp) or rare in French and it was beautifully cooked.

Alex and Claire opted for the typical French Raclette. I've never seen one of these before so was a tad surprised when a large wrought iron contraption was presented at the table and plugged in to the wall. Turns out its a sort of ceramic heating element similar to hair straighteners, a MASSIVE block of cheese (presumably Raclette) was then put in position to melt with an accompanying platter of cold meats and breads.

The evening was a real treat and a good laugh. The food was brilliant, company familiar and we were still able to all gather round to complete that nights pants nominations.

Unfortunately for Alex, he 'won' the pant wearing duty again so had to walk out of the restaurant in the same get up as he'd walked in!

The week didn't feel like work. The guests weren't 'guests' for this week. They were our friends and the whole holiday was just a group of friends who happened to have dinner parties everynight and were able to snowboard in the days!

It was sad to see new friends leave and we will be sure to keep in contact. The offers of hospitality was also more than welcomed, and as for being a bridesmaid at Chris and Jane's wedding... I'll have to see if I'm free for the dress fitting.

Enjoy the video below: Best viewed in HD if possible

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJXY8No0j1w

Beautiful guests and soon to be familiar faces...

I'm sorry I've been so quiet...

It's only because we are coming to the end of 3 awesome weeks with 3 awesome sets of guests. And it's been a real pleasure. After our nightmare guests a couple of weeks ago it was a real breath of fresh air and a bolster to our experience. We thought we were doomed to a season of guests who we had no connection with. Our manager received a formal complaint, 10 points long, about how incompetent Kerry and I were at our jobs.

I gave simple and honest answers to my management hierarchy. Every piece of feedback prior and after these particular guests was shining and it gave me a real boost in morale. I knew what I was doing was right and I was conducting my job to the fullest. My manager told me not to take things like this too highly. But I have real trouble with that. I want to thrive and excel at everything I do, whether that is clean a toilet, run a chalet, maintain an engineering asset or paint a picture! I take real pride in my work and get great satisfaction from knowing I've pleased a boss, client, friend, relative.

But that's all behind us now.

We have received 2 great snowboarding groups. People where the mountain and the snow is everything to them. People who have 2 winter holidays boarding and no summer holiday. And these are the kind of people I enjoy catering for the most. For them the experience is simply about the mountain and everything it offers. Not whether the toilet roll is folded in to a point or the croutons too big with the soup. It's all about the mountain.

They're probably the best kind of guests because they have the same mindset as me. Kerry hates it when I tell guests, but I am here for the mountain. Yes I take pride in my work, but my primary reason for being here is to ride my snowboard and have a good time. So when I can do both of those things with my guests, of course I'm going to love them!

Unless...

Unless I make a personal and meaningful relationship with the guests. Which I did with one set. A family of 8 ranging from Grandparent to Grandson and from a place not too far from my home town (Tonbridge Wells). And they shone to me. The epitome of family happiness, all out to enjoy a holiday together. And time together which they admitted they did not get much of at home. But now they were in the Alps, together, and loving it.

Some had skied before, others not, each took it in turns to look after the 2 year old while parents could shoot off over the mountain together. Kerry and I skied with them most days and enjoyed every minute. Conversation was varied and intelligent and I just warmed to them like I can imagine any good chalet host doing. These were wholesome, decent people.

And we are due more! Good friends of ours Alex and Claire are booked in to arrive this coming Sunday! They were initially the only two people booked in for next week. Imagine that! A whole chalet for me, Kerry and our two friends. No uniform, dinner when we want, one room to ... maybe... make. A holiday.

But alas, it wasn't to be. We had two more guests book mid week and then by Thursday the whole chalet was booked out! 10 full guests! So a panic trip down the mountain to the supermarket was needed and we are now prepared. It really will be awesome to see some familiar and friendly faces. I can't wait.

As far as boarding is concerned I am now a full on powder hound. I love the stuff! I like nothing more than that woooosh of fresh, deep powder under my board. (It also doesn't hurt when you fall!) The feeling of pulling off a lovely set of turns through an untracked powder field is second to none. I now know why the ski-bums come to Sainte Foy. The powder.

Here is a little montage of clips to illustrate my love of the off piste. Trees are a new venture for me, but one I'm starting to like more and more.

 

What a difference a day makes...

It's 5:25am and I've just said goodbye and good ridance to our worst set (yes of two) guests. They literally made my week a living hell. My only escape was when we got out on the mountain.

We hosted for a family of two adult siblings, their partners and numerous horrible children. The siblings were the worst if I'm honest. Both with mid-northern twangs to their voice that grated every time they spoke. I dreaded climbing the steps to the chalet to the shrill of Ella or Georgia with extended endings as if speaking on a rollercoaster. Ellaaaaaaaa..... come here Georgiaaaaaaa. As the mum beconed to her disobedient, messy and down right rude children.

Her brother may have topped the charts for the most glum person alive. Everything and anything we could have done or had done was wrong. I'd like to expand on the matter a little but I'll have to refrain from any expletives as my Grandparents are partial to a dose of Vagabonding Adam! (Hi G + G!)

Not only was the table wine an 'insult' but the bread was stale, the tart au citron too lemony, the choice of 5 cereals not enough, the stairs too steppy and the burnt chalet too burnt. Everytime Kerry and I whipped out our best conversation leading question he'd grunt a closed answer and turn back to shit-united playing on the TV. (Sorry Grumps!)

But of course he was the don on the slope. Stories of him breaking the speed of sound and 'smashing' every black run on the resort (of which there are 3, not very fun black runs) were plentiful. All while he shoved 2 slices of buttered bread in to the hole in his face.

It's a shame really as his wife was a pleasure to cook for. She appreciated every morsel we could have given to her, was a chef herself and gave constructive, appreciated criticism when it warranted it.

Their kids, and the kids of the other family were another question. Everything was 'not for them'. We tried to accommodate with pasta and a tomato sauce with cheese and sausage; but then had to individually dish out their meals as one wouldn't eat cheese, the other sausage. One would have sauce but not too much and all gave their plates back just as we'd given them to them, untouched.

What really got to me though was when they'd ask for decent food, like sausage for breakfast. Having quite a tight quota of 'English' goods like Heinz Baked Beans, sausages and bacon it meant that we could only cook enough for the guests. Any left overs or unwanted food was ours for breakfast, a real gem! So when one brat would ask for a sausage every morning, push it around the plate, stare at it intently and then leave it to cool down, not even trying it, really got up my goat. That was my sausage!

It spoilt the week, not only for us but for them. We payed no attention to their wellbeing, didn't do the finer touches and generally just didnt give a …. (Hey Grandma!) Yes we did the obligatory, we made poxy sausage and bacon sandwiches at 4am this morning because Andrew wanted them. We did everything the company asked of us, just didnt 'shine' as hosts.

So now we have 5 hours to turn the chalet around, all new linen, deep clean the rooms, windows cleaned, carpets hoovered, cake baked and dinner prepped for our new set of guests.

Please god.

Don't do that to me again...

Self catering holiday and a fabulous Christmas week...

It took the chalet a good few days to warm up. The concrete inside it acts like thermal mass, taking a very long time to heat up, but conversely giving out heat for a long time after. This meant Kerry and I had to endure a few nights of near freezing temperatures, even inside! Luckily some early Christmas presents, namely a hot water bottle, were put to good use!

We picked up our seasonnaires lift passes on Saturday 22^nd but were unsure as to whether we could try them out and get a few runs in... we had been told that staff were only allowed to ski once they had guests and had finished their days duties. Throwing caution to the wind, counting on the fact we were the only staff from our company in Sainte Foy, I rushed to the equipment hire shop at 4:10 trying desperately to grab my board and get out to the lift for the last lift at 4:40. And I made it! I managed two lifts and the runs were brilliant. I took some very hard falls and it hit home just how little I seemed to remember, but those two runs were the start of my season, and I was happy.

A phone call later that night put a warm fuzzy feeling in our stomachs. We were told we weren't getting guests the next day, Sunday, because of the state of the burnt chalet and its crumbling demise being a 'serious Health and Safety risk' to guests. Our instructions were to eat all of the perishables and be ready if called upon to help in another resort.

Well I was fine with that! A luxurious chalet to ourselves, eating food that had been bought by someone else, and with nothing to do each day but snowboard, explore, drink the vino that was meant for the guests and generally chill! A holiday before we'd even started working!

A few days later and my boarding was back up to scratch, I hadn't caught an edge yet and I was getting a lot quicker. Kerry was advancing on every run. I'd get to the bottom, turn to face up the hill and wait a few minutes for Kerry to join me. By the end of the week those minutes changed to seconds until I turned around and she was there on my tail! She looks very good with it, mostly dressed in purple kind of like a Miss Penelope Pitstop of the slopes.

We practised everyone of the vegetarian options, freezing the expensive meat for next weeks guests, and decided on the 'Spicy bean burger' being the best vegetarian meal in the book. Each day, however, we tentatively watched as French builders put in 30 minutes of work a day to make safe the burnt chalet.

Friday came and it was clear we were about to get our first set of guests 2 days later. The builders had constructed a pathway and cleared old mattresses, books and other burnt posessions that used to litter the entry. Our first week of guests, and on Christmas week! Quite a daunting task, until we met our guests. They were the best set of guests a host could ask for, Christmas week or not.

2 families with some convoluted ties and some great kids who were down to earth, understanding, well behaved and clean. It was a pleasure cooking and cleaning for them for the week and I personally maybe made a slight mistake and really got attached to individuals. I was devistated one night when the chicken breasts for the main took 30 minutes longer than listed, delaying the meal. The adults were insistent that the delay was fine but, having formed this relationship, I felt I had let them down and was very disappointed with the meal.

Luckily Christmas Day went beautifully. We realised we had no stuffing or brussel sprouts on Christmas Eve and after a few phone calls rustled up some stuffing mix but sprouts were apparently a lot harder to find in the alps. Luckily a chalet couple we had met in the pub were able to give us a huge bag. I sneakily kept it quiet that we had secured the sacred sprouts from my guests until later on Christmas Day when I proudly asked how they'd like their sprouts cooked, holding the bag aloft!

Christmas Day had even more pressure loaded on it. The organiser of the party was having her 50^th Birthday on Christmas Day. Kerry and I used a little imagination and some engineering prowess to construct this monstrosity! It went down a storm.

Saying goodbye to our first week of guests was difficult. Not only because it was a 5:15 departure. We didn't know who we were going to get and had watched the 4 kids advance from crying before their lessons to bombing down the slopes with me and Kerry happy as larry.

Our first two weeks being seasonnaires has been good. The work is hard and sometimes stressful in the evenings, but rewarding when you see someone try a new dinner and enjoy it, or learn to ski.

Ski Season Training Week...

Sitting, sitting and more sitting.

Training to be a chalet host is loooong. And involves a lot of sitting, sitting through lectures, sitting at lunch, sitting in coffee breaks. Always sitting.

Every morning was an early rise, to prepare us for chalet host life I think, and something I'm used to thankfully. After breakfast we went straight in to lectures on a number of different subjects from Mountain Health including avalanche safety as well as protecting your package should you decide to do some serious Apre Ski activities of the bedroom variety, to Housekeeping and everything to do with making a bed and cleaning a bathroom.

Being a fairly large company there was the usual box ticking exercises of explaining the grievance policy should you do something wrong or decide to leave prematurely etc. Ski season operators have a notorious turnover of staff, with some people taking the job just to get a free ride out to the Alps!

The Fire Safety talk was fairly in depth and shocking including a video that was a little too graphic for my liking. It did re-enforce the importance of fire safety in the Alps with the chalets being built from lovely Pine wood and the realisation that, at altitude, it may take the fire department a number of hours instead of the usual minutes we are used to at home in the UK.

This point was bolstered when Kerry and I arrived at our chalet to find that the adjacent chalet had burnt down just a few weeks prior. There was no snow on the ground and the fire brigade were able to get to the scene very quickly. Even so the wood was so dry the fire spread and only a shell remains. Quite scarily we have to walk feet in front of the crumbling building to get to our Chalet and we have heard parts falling down during the night.

After all of our training we were called in to the main lecture hall of the hotel to have one final speech from the European Operations Director before we were let loose to hunt out A4 printed sheets that had been pinned up throughout the hotel. On them was the information everyone was craving, our resort and chalet placements!

We have met some amazing people, both from our cooking course in the summer and from the companies training course in the hotel, so I was a little upset that we were placed in a resort on our own. As it turns out our closest friends were all split up over the French resorts. What was a little worrying to start was that Kerry and I were literally the only 2 hosts to be placed in our particular resort, Sainte Foy.

We met with our Area Manager, a very French guy who immediately put our fears to rest. He explained how being chosen to run a chalet in Sainte Foy was a great compliment from the company. That the managers saw our potential over the rest to provide a premium, quality holiday and to run the whole resort without guidance (or interference) from management. This basically means that we run the resort ourselves, giving guests information and advice as well as maintaining the chalet to our standards.

So off we go! To Sainte Foy!